These rules govern an action in which the appointment of a receiver is sought or a receiver sues or is sued. The practice in administering an estate by a receiver or a similar court-appointed officer must accord with state statute or with a local rule. A foreign receiver has capacity to sue in any district court, but the receiver's rights are subordinate to those of local creditors. An action in which a receiver has been appointed may be dismissed only by court order.
Rule 66.Receivers
Group VIII: Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings · Last amended March 1, 2013 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 66 applies the civil rules to any action in which a receiver is appointed or in which a receiver sues or is sued, ties estate administration to state statute or local rule, lets a foreign receiver sue in North Dakota subject to local creditors' priority, and bars dismissing a receivership action without a court order.
Full Text of Rule 66
Explanatory Note
Rule 66 was amended, effective March 1, 2011; March 1, 2013. Rule 66 is derived from Fed.R.Civ.P. 66. Rule 66 was amended, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 66 is a single, short provision that folds receivership actions into the ordinary civil rules: whenever a court appoints a receiver, or a receiver sues or gets sued, these rules govern the action. The rule doesn't try to spell out how a receiver runs the estate day to day — that practice must follow whatever state statute or local rule already covers it, rather than being reinvented case by case under the general civil rules.
The rule also addresses receivers appointed elsewhere: a foreign receiver has the capacity to sue in any North Dakota district court, but that receiver's rights come after those of local creditors. That priority protects North Dakota creditors from being pushed to the back of the line by an out-of-state receivership they had no part in.
Finally, Rule 66 puts a check on unilaterally ending a case once a receiver is in the picture: an action in which a receiver has been appointed can be dismissed only by court order. That keeps a party from cutting off a receivership estate, and the creditors who depend on it, without the court weighing in first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the ordinary civil procedure rules apply once a receiver is appointed in a case?
Yes. Rule 66 states that these rules govern any action in which the appointment of a receiver is sought, or in which a receiver sues or is sued.
Who decides how a receiver manages the property or estate?
Rule 66 doesn't set that practice itself; it requires that administering an estate by a receiver or similar court-appointed officer follow whatever state statute or local rule already governs it.
Can a receiver appointed in another state sue in North Dakota courts?
Yes. Rule 66 gives a foreign receiver the capacity to sue in any North Dakota district court.
Do North Dakota creditors get priority over a foreign receiver's claims?
Yes. Rule 66 makes a foreign receiver's rights subordinate to those of local creditors.
Can a party dismiss a case on their own after a receiver has been appointed?
No. Rule 66 requires a court order to dismiss an action in which a receiver has been appointed.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Explanatory Note are
reproduced verbatim from the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of North Dakota. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: receiver appointment rule north dakotaforeign receiver nd civil proceduredismiss action after receiver appointed north dakotareceivership rule nd rule 66